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Earthquake study in schools

The National Institute of Higher Education has partnered with the University of Leicester to initiate a new science education programme that would see secondary school students monitoring and studying earthquakes. The programme, called Seismology in Schools, was launched yesterday at the University of the West Indies (UWI) School of Education, St Augustine. The pilot programme is being implemented immediately in eight local schools, targetting students in Forms Three to Six. Seismometers—machines used to monitor seismic activity and data recording software to track, monitor and analyse data from earthquakes around the world—will be distributed.

The programme, which started in the United Kingdom, is being taught in over 500 schools. Stacey Selman-Edwards, education officer at the Seismic Research Centre, UWI, a partner in the initiative, said teachers would receive training for the programme during a two-day workshop which began yesterday. “The aim of this programme is to deliver science in an exciting and provocative way for students,” Selman-Edwards said. “It is to expose students with an interest in physics and maths to seismology.” She said one of the desired outcomes would be to make earthquake hazards more real to students as this country’s citizens treated earthquakes with a lack of concern. “These students will be able to monitor earthquakes and compare their data with data from students across the globe.”